Education Minister Reviews UBEC Fund Rules for Better Access

The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad, has announced that the regulations for obtaining intervention funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) are presently being revised to enhance their flexibility.

Ahmad made this statement during a two-day interactive forum on government-citizens’ engagement, organised yesterday in Kaduna by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation.

Three weeks ago, UBEC had criticised state governments for failing to utilise the N250 billion accessed from the Commission.

According to the Commission, the states held onto the funds rather than using the resources to improve basic education.

However, yesterday, the minister explained that moving forward, the release of funds to state governments would be linked to specific performance indicators.

She added: “This is to ensure quality control and value for money.”

UBEC’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, accused the states during the opening of a three-day financial management training session in Abuja on July 21.

The most frequent problem associated with the UBEC fund has been the states’ failure to provide the counterpart funding required to access it.

Dr. Garba, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Razaq Akinyemi, stated: “The basic challenge remains not only accessing the remaining UBE Intervention Fund, but importantly, the slow utilisation of the Fund with over N250 billion still being retained as unutilised in the coffers of the 36 SUBEBS & FCT-UBEB as at today.”

UBEC is funded as a first-line charge through the education tax and other revenue streams.

The funds are released to states after they provide the required counterpart contributions for the advancement of basic education.

Shortcomings identified by the UBEC head include delayed access to the UBE Matching Grant, sluggish use of the fund, failure to comply with fund usage guidelines, misappropriation of funds, failure to deduct and remit taxes, disregard for due process in awarding contracts for basic education projects, and neglect of the approved action plans, among others.

She stressed that UBEC’s objective is to make sure that all participants grasp and fulfil their vital responsibility of ensuring every naira allocated to the UBE programme is properly accounted for and used effectively to enhance educational outcomes for Nigerian children.

The training targets state officials responsible for managing universal basic education to expand their knowledge and refine their skills.

It was a three-day training programme held from July 21.

“This edition of the training is thus another critical milestone in our collective pursuit of ensuring transparency, accountability, and prudence in the management of public resources entrusted to us for the delivery of quality basic education.

“That is why we have carefully ensured that this particular training is expected to cover a range of pertinent areas including the new template for preparing SUBEB Action Plans, Overview of the Nigerian Tax Reforms Act, 2025, financial infractions, violations resulting in audit queries & red flags in the execution of UBE funded projects, Procurement Procedures, and maintenance of financial records, among others,” Dr. Garba said.